Vexed over delays, CBI court judge in Chennai turns to maxims and metaphors to express frustration

CHENNAI: Distressed over the delay of judgment in a 15-year-old corruption case against a Railways engineer and the accused’s tactics of dragging proceedings just before the verdict, a city judge resorted to maxims and metaphors about delayed justice to express his concern.

The judge termed ‘delayed justice’ as the eighth useless thing - his own addition to the ‘Useless Seven’ mentioned in Viveka Sinthamani, an ancient Tamil collection of poems preaching morals. The court also compared the process of delivering judgment to giving birth to a child and said that the defense had extended the court’s labour pain (by delaying proceedings).

The observations were made by S Ezhil Velavan, additional special judge for CBI cases while hearing a petition by KSSVP Murthy Raju, a former Southern Railway Deputy Chief Engineer and his family members seeking to recall prosecution witnesses in the disproportionate assets case registered against them by the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2008.

Murthy was already sentenced to two years imprisonment by a trial court in a bribery case, which the Madras High Court set aside on appeal. Apart from the bribery case, the CBI had registered a case against the engineer and his family members in November 2008, alleging that the accused had amassed assets worth Rs 66.2 lakh between 1998-2008, which was disproportionate to their known sources of income.

After 15 years of trial and closure of arguments, the verdict in this case was to be pronounced in April this year when the counsels for the accused moved the court to recall two prosecution witnesses to aid their case. The prosecution objected to the petition, arguing that these late manoeuvres would only delay the proceedings.

After hearing both sides, the court noted the direction from the higher courts to dispose of long pending cases in all possible legal ways to reduce the alarming pendency in lower courts.

The court then cited the ancient Tamil text, Viveka Sinathamani and pointed to the “useless seven” -- a son who doesn’t help his father in difficult times, Food inaccessible when hungry, water that does not quench one’s thirst, a wife who is not prudent in spending, a king who could not control his anger, the student who doesn’t listen to his teacher and the holy water that does not wash one’s sin.

The court pointed out that while some original maxims are outdated, delayed justice can be added as the eighth useless thing.

In the criminal judicial system, registration of case is like getting “LKG” admission, filing of a charge sheet is like getting a college seat in a Professional College, framing of charges is like searching for a bride or groom with best qualities, conducting trial is like a marriage preparation, and pronouncement of judgment is like a great task of giving birth to a child, the court noted and said that despite the accused dragging the proceedings, the court is inclined to allow the accused’s petition as a last chance to allow natural justice.

The court directed the petitioners to pay a sum of Rs 20,000 to any orphanage or senior citizens’ home and directed their counsel to cross-examine the witnesses on the same day they appear.